


Life Could Be a Dream

by WhiteravenGreywolf



Category: Lovecraft Country (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, But Ruby brought it back, Curiosity killed the cat, Curses, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Magical Artifacts, Psychological Horror, Teamwork
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:36:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27709844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiteravenGreywolf/pseuds/WhiteravenGreywolf
Summary: Christina inherits a strange book from a former rival of her father. While Ruby is partial to leaving the book alone, she agrees to help Christina find a way to open it. However, she makes Christina promise not to touch the book when she's not there, as Christina is without magic and can't protect herself against whatever trap might lurk between those pages. But Christina will be Christina...
Relationships: Ruby Baptiste/Christina Braithwhite
Comments: 12
Kudos: 46





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Here's another one-shot that became so long I had to cut it in two! Cursed book edition!  
> Canon-wise, here's what you need to know: Christina lost her magic but Atticus isn't dead, and she didn't put Ruby to sleep. The story takes place about a year after the equinox.  
> I spent most of a Sunday afternoon planning this one, thinking about what kind of object they should be dealing with, that it shouldn't be a book because that would be too classic, and then finally deciding that it had to be a book. Then the story ballooned uncontrollably. I hope I got it back under control!  
> Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy it! The second part is coming tomorrow, don't worry!

It was a gray October morning. The taxi left the man in front of a large mansion on the north side of town. The man nervously stepped up to the gate and pushed it open. He was a tall white guy, with short brown hair and thin rounded glasses. He wore an expensive suit and carried a thick envelope clutched to his chest. With hurried footsteps, he crossed the driveway, glancing at the silver car parked in front of the garage door.

  
With clammy hands, he rang the doorbell. To his surprise, a black woman came to open, a look of slight annoyance on her face, as if he'd disturbed her. She wasn't dressed like the help, but in a beautiful dark green dress, and she wore a golden necklace with a butterfly pendant.

  
"What do you want?" she asked.

  
"I'm..." he glanced behind her shoulder but saw no one else. He frowned. "I'm looking for miss Christina Braithwhite?"

  
The woman rolled her eyes as if his answer was obvious.

  
"Christina, it's for you!" she shouted.

  
Footsteps echoed around the house, and soon enough another woman appeared, this one blonde and wearing a blouse and skirt, the sleeves of her top rolled up hastily to her elbows. 

  
"Yes?" the blonde asked.

  
"Er... I'm Timothy Hardwick, Esquire. I've been sent here to deliver something to miss Christina Braithwhite?"

  
Both of the women frowned, looking at each other confusedly. Finally, they stepped away from the door and let the attorney in. He walked in nervously, his eyes never leaving the two women. Christina motioned for him to take a seat in the armchair in the living room, and he did so hurriedly. He watched the two women whisper to each other until finally, they came to sit on the couch.

  
"You don't mind if my friend stays," Christina said.

  
"No, it's no problem," Hardwick replied, glancing at the other woman.

  
She was looking at him suspiciously. He cleared his throat and looked back at the blonde. Her piercing blue eyes sent chills down his spine.

  
"I... I represent Mrs. Madeleine Butcher and her estate. Mrs. Butcher died a few weeks ago. When her testament was unveiled this..." he placed the envelope on the coffee table in front of him. "was given to your father. However, since your father already passed, it falls onto you."

  
Christina had listened attentively. However, she didn't reach for the envelope.

  
"I'm surprised she would leave anything to my father. He'd worked with her husband a while ago, but they hadn't ended on very good terms."

  
The attorney could only shrug.

  
"Her living relatives insisted that her will be followed. You can refuse it."

  
"No, I'll take it, whatever this is."

  
"Oh, my apologies."

  
The attorney opened the envelope. He pulled out a piece of paper first, placing it on the table. Then, he pulled out a thick, heavy tome. It was bound in old brown leather, the spine cracked from having been read often. Two thick straps kept it shut. The most puzzling, however, was the front cover, as it was covered with cogs, like the inside of the clock. However, none of the pieces were moving. In the center was a small mirror-looking orb. Hardwick passed the book over to Christina. The blonde took it in her hands tentatively, then placed it back on the table in front of her.

  
"It's an interesting looking book for sure," the attorney said awkwardly.

  
When he saw neither woman laughing at his joke, he cleared his throat and unfolded the paper. He took a pen out of his breast pocket and handed it to Christina.

  
"Sign here, please."

  
Christina read the document swiftly, and once she was sure it wasn't a trick, she signed.

* * *

The attorney was escorted out, and Christina turned her attention back to the book. It was swiftly brought to the basement, placed on a table, and observed under every possible angle.

  
"What are we looking at?" Ruby asked.

  
"A book," Christina replied.

  
Ruby rolled her eyes.

  
"I couldn't have guessed it myself. And something tells me this isn't the kind of book we want to open."

  
Christina touched one of the cogs on the cover, making it turn one notch to the right. They held their breaths, but nothing happened.

  
"We need the combination," Christina said.

  
She looked more closely at the mirror in the middle of it all, in case something was hidden inside. All she saw was her eye staring back at her.

  
"Again, should we open it?" Ruby asked. "It could be trapped. If those Butchers didn't really like your father but wanted him to have it, it probably wasn't out of the kindness of their hearts."

  
"I've thought of that."

  
Christina pulled on the straps lightly, but they wouldn't budge. She looked at the back of the book, but there was nothing. She was pulled out of her thoughts when she felt Ruby's hand on her shoulder.

  
"I know that you're excited about a possible new magic book, but it's locked for a reason. And I don't need to remind you that you're not as equipped to deal with magic as you used to be. The mark is one thing, but whatever's inside, it might be stronger than the mark."

  
Christina pursed her lips.

  
"What do you suggest?"

  
"I'm not going to stop you from trying, because I know then you'll go behind my back. Just promise me that you won't try to open it if I'm not there. I'll place a circle around the book, make sure whatever's inside is contained in case it tries to come out."

  
Christina looked at Ruby. Under her tutelage, Ruby had made immense progress in the past year, and she was now a very competent practitioner. Christina never tired of hearing her lover speaking so confidently about magic.

  
"What?" Ruby asked.

  
Christina pulled her into a kiss.

  
"Nothing. You get started on the circle, I'll go get some things that might be useful."

  
Christina walked up and into the office which she never used. Her mind was reeling with ideas. She pulled out a few books she thought might give her some answers, then hurried back to the basement. As she arrived, Ruby was finishing casting the spell around the book.

  
"First try," Ruby said proudly.

  
"Good work. Soon enough you won't even need my help anymore," Christina said, and her heart pinched in her chest.

  
They spent most of the morning in the basement. It took them a while to find the starting position of the cogs, and Christina redid her calculation twice before she was certain. Then, the guessing game began, as she and Ruby read through anything which seemed relevant, looking for the key to this mystery.

  
It was Ruby who figured out their first breakthrough. After staring at the book long enough, she began trying to get the mirror out of the cover.

  
"I don't think you can just take it out," Christina said as she'd struggled for a moment.

  
"Hold on..."

  
Ruby left the basement and returned a moment later with a compact. She opened it and used the mirror to look at the cogs. While the cogs seemed blank under the naked eye, there were symbols inscribed on them which only appeared in their reflection.

  
"How did you think of that?" Christina asked, surprised.

  
"I figured no one would place a mirror on the cover of a book if it didn't serve some purpose."

  
Christina picked up a piece of paper and began reproducing the cogs and the symbols on it. When the paper was full she took another one and continued until all the symbols had been reproduced, with the sense of rotation of each cog and how they interlocked. A sense of pride swelled in her chest, not for her but for Ruby. It was new to her, feeling pride on someone else's behalf.

  
They were still hunched over the book after lunch when Ruby remembered that she had a hairdresser appointment and she needed to get going. Christina complained:

  
"You don't need to go, you already look perfect."

  
Ruby shook her head with amusement.

  
"Yes, and it takes work. Now come on, you can take the papers upstairs and think about it until I come back."

  
Christina let herself be dragged upstairs. Ruby closed the door of the basement behind them. Christina was sat on the couch, papers spread all around her when Ruby left.

  
"I'll be back before you know it. Don't touch the book."

  
"What about looking at it?" Christina asked.

  
Ruby sighed.

  
"You're worse than a child. I don't want to know you've been anywhere near that book while I wasn't there."

  
Ruby kissed her before leaving.

  
"Love you," she said as she left the house.

  
"Love you too."

  
Christina heard the car engine start, then the world receded out of her mind as she fell deep into thoughts.

* * *

Ruby had been gone for an hour and a half. Christina had thought she'd found the combination, redone her calculation, found that she was wrong, taken a coffee break, abandoned, taken another coffee break, and finally gotten back to work. Using the mirror to see the symbols had been a genius move, Christina thought. She and Ruby had grown to form quite the team together. And while not a day went by where Christina didn't wish she could still cast too, the simple fact that magic was still part of her life was enough. She'd worked very hard to convince herself that it was.

  
She sighed longly, still no close to the answer. She threw the sheet of paper on the table, and it twisted as it flew out of her hand. With frustration, she flipped it back to the written side. Now it was backward. She frowned. She picked up the paper and stared at it. Then, she picked up another piece of paper with cogs drawn on it and flipped it around.

  
When the solution dawned on her, she scribbled it hastily on a piece of paper. She stood up and walked swiftly to the basement door. She was already halfway down the stairs when she remembered her promise. She paused. Ruby would be angry if she learned Christina had gone downstairs. Just for a glance, Christina told herself. It wouldn't hurt. She had the mark of Cain on her so even if the book exploded, she would be fine. And even then, Ruby had placed a protection spell around it. It would be fine.

  
She flipped on the light in the basement. The book hadn't moved. She came to stand in front of it. Slowly, she flipped it around. Nothing seemed to change. She took a step back. She had the answer. What was she waiting for? Christina bit her lower lip. Ruby would be very very mad if the book was open when she returned. But then Christina would be able to tell her that it was fine, and there wasn't anything dangerous in the book. The mere thought of what this book could contain...

  
Christina placed the paper beside the book and carefully followed the steps, turning the cogs this and that way. When she was done, she held her breath. The book snapped open, prompting the blonde to take a step back. Dust fell out of the pages and floated onto the table. Christina dared to look at the pages. They were blank. The next second, viscous ink bubbled out of the seem. It splashed against the pages, turning them black. A few drops ricocheted against the protection spell around the book before they could touch Christina.

  
The blonde moved back and watched as the book disappeared under the ink. The ink pushed against the spell until it contained only a pool of dark liquid. Christina held her breath. The protection spell had worked. She stepped closer to inspect it. There was a reflection in the pool, but it wasn't hers. It was a man's, who somewhat looked like William, but younger. The reflection smiled and waved at her. The protection spell burst.

  
A wave of ink spread around the room, splashing Christina from top to bottom. Then, like the tide, it receded. Christina was pulled toward the book with nothing to hold her back. It was as if the book had turned into a black hole, sucking her in. Before she knew it, she disappeared in the book. Not a drop of ink was left behind. Still, the book remained open. The mirror on its cover lost its reflection. A moment later, the book spat out another blob of ink. It fell to the ground and took shape. A young man with silver-blonde hair and sky blue eyes appeared. He stared down at himself with a satisfied smile.

  
"Now that's better."

  
He straightened his tie and shut the book.

* * *

Ruby hadn't been able to get the book out of her mind during her entire time at the hairdresser. She was particularly curious as to the importance of the mirror in the middle of the book. Maybe they'd focused on the wrong thing and the mirror was the key to opening it. However, she wasn't given much of a chance to think, as the hairdresser and the other patrons bombarded her with questions. Everyone wanted to know the latest gossip about life on the north side. How lucky Ruby was to have a white friend who didn't care about letting her stay at her house. It always made Ruby chuckle. Yes, how good of a friend Christina was.

  
As she drove home, she thought about the book, still. She couldn't ignore the bad feeling she had in her chest. She decided that before she allowed Christina near it again, she would call Leti and ask her if there was anything in the Book of Names that could help them, something to detect what the book contained perhaps.

  
She parked in the driveway. The house was dark, to Ruby's surprise. She unlocked the door and walked inside.

  
"Chris?" she called out as she closed the door.

  
There was no answer, at first. But it was followed by the sound of fire crackling. Ruby frowned. The fireplace in the dining room had been turned on, the light of the flames dancing in the dark house.

  
"Chris?" she called again as she approached the fireplace.

  
There was a man in a suit kneeling there. At first, Ruby mistook him for William, which would have been impossible. They'd buried William under a bridge a year prior. The man was poking something in the fire.

  
"It just doesn't want to burn," he said as Ruby tentatively moved closer.

  
The book was seating among the flames. They licked the edge of the pages, but they wouldn't so much as darken. Ruby's eyes grew wide and she hurried to reach for the book, unafraid of the flames. However, before she could get a hold of it, the man pulled the book out and stepped away from her.

  
"No, no, no," he said, clicking his tongue between each syllable as if he were scolding a child. "This one's mine."

  
Ruby felt anger overtake her worry.

  
"Where's Christina? What have you done to her?"

  
The man smiled and it was uncannily like Christina's smirk. The eyes were the same, too, but they didn't have the love Ruby had grown used to seeing in Christina's eyes.

  
"Your Christina has gone where curious people go. She was rewarded for her ingenuity. She set me free and I'm grateful to her for that. But that's where my dealings with her end."

  
It didn't take long for Ruby to put two and two together. Christina had opened the book and set this gender-swapped doppelganger free. Ruby took a step back out of the dining room.

  
"You trapped her in the book?"

  
She took another step. The man shook his head.

  
"I didn't trap her, she trapped herself. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find a way to destroy this book."

  
The man walked toward her and the exit. Ruby took one last step to stand in the doorway. She passed her thumbs over the door frame, cutting through the skin against sharp jutting splinters. As she traced the last of the symbols on the door frame, energy buzzed in front of her. She stepped away and the man stopped short of the energy field. He smirked.

  
"Trapping me here will only slow me down. Just let me out, if you please, and I'll give you what you want."

  
"Alright. Give me the book."

  
He kept up his appearance of polite calmness, but in his eyes, Ruby recognized the irritation brewing.

  
"That, unfortunately, is the only thing that I can't give you. But tell me, what do you want? This house? You can have it now that its owner is gone. Money? You can take all of her fortune. Now that Christina is gone, in fact, everything that was hers is yours. You are already a powerful practitioner, but I could teach you more. And all you have to do is let me out."

  
"No thank you," Ruby replied as she went to the front door. "The only thing you can give me is Christina."

  
"You know I can't do that."

  
"Too bad."

  
Ruby stopped near the front door and with the blood from her thumb, she traced two lines over a hidden symbol. The letter shone as if it'd caught on fire suddenly. Around the house, other symbols lit up for a second.

  
"Christina made this spell. You're not getting out alive."

  
For a second, the man's facade cracked, and he punched the wall of energy, sending ripples around as if he'd punched a wall of water.

  
"You'll regret this," he said. "I will destroy this book and then I'll destroy you."

* * *

Ruby called Leti and Atticus from the bedroom phone. She wanted to keep an eye on the demon – she thought he had to be a demon, what else would have been trapped in a book – but she didn't want him to hear what she had to say. She trusted Christina's spell to hold him into the dining room.

  
" _Winthrop House, this is Leti speaking,_ " Leti said as she picked up the phone.

  
Ruby could hear George babbling so Leti must have had him in her arms.

  
"Hey, I need you and Atticus to come over right away," Ruby said with eagerness.

  
" _Ruby? What's wrong?_ "

  
"Christina opened a book she shouldn't have and now I have this evil male doppelganger on my hands. I think I could use a bit of help getting rid of him."

  
Leti was silent at first. Ruby vaguely heard her shout but she couldn't quite make out what was going on. Then, Leti said:

  
" _We'll leave George at Montrose's on the way._ "

  
Ruby went to the basement then. She found the protection circle on the table had been blown away. She wondered if it had worked at all. Beside it, she found Christina's solution, scribbled hastily on a piece of paper. Ruby could only imagine what had gone through her mind. Powers or not, Christina would always be Christina. She'd yet to understand that just because she could didn't mean that she should, despite having been burned before. As much as Ruby wanted to temper her, she doubted she would ever succeed. But certainly making the blonde sleep on the couch for a month as punishment would be a good start.

  
While she waited, Ruby kept an eye on the blond. He had begun tracing signs and circles against the door frame in blood. However, every time he spoke the words, the energy bounced back toward him, sending him flying across the room. After a while he gave up on the door and decided to focus on the book once again, drawing circles to destroy the magical artifact. However, nothing seemed to harm it, as if a mark of Cain had been placed on the book. Maybe, Ruby imagined, Christina's mark was still active.

  
When the doorbell rang Ruby hurried out but didn't let Leti and Atticus in yet. She closed the door behind her. Both her sister and brother-in-law looked worried.

  
"Hey, he's in the dining room," Ruby said quickly.

  
"Did he give you his name?" Atticus asked.

  
"No, I've just been calling him 'the demon'."

  
"He's a male version of Christina, right," Tic said. "Because in his book, George turned Christina into a man and named him Caleb. Caleb Braithwhite."

  
"Caleb or not, it doesn't matter. He has the book in which Christina is stuck and we need to get her out."

  
"What book was it?" Leti asked. "Because we had a deal that Christina wasn't supposed to be anywhere near magical artifacts now."

  
Ruby rolled her eyes.

  
"It was given to her this morning from an inheritance."

  
"And you didn't think about calling us?!" Leti said.

  
"I was about to but Christina opened it while I was gone."

  
"Ladies," Atticus dared, "perhaps we should deal with the doppelganger in the dining room before we decide what to do with Christina and the book?"

  
Leti sighed.

  
"Fine."

  
She pulled the Book of Names out of her bag and flipped through it.

  
"We can send him back into the book but we need to get Christina out first. It's like a container, there's only so much place available inside."

  
Ruby nodded.

  
"If you can help me get the book away from him, I'll go get her and we can trap him afterward."

* * *

The three of them walked inside. Caleb was drawing more blood symbols on the ground near the door. He paused and looked at Leti and Tic as they walked in.

  
"The Cavalry? I'm honored you thought I was so dangerous. But there's no need, really. This is all just a big misunderstanding. If you let me out, we can talk this out."

  
"You're not going anywhere," Leti said.

  
She sat down in the living room with the book and looked for the right spell. Meanwhile, Caleb began drawing symbols. Atticus observed him.

  
"Your magic is weakening," Atticus noticed.

  
"That's not possible," Caleb said, showing no sign of doubt in his abilities.

  
"Yes, it is. And the longer you stay here the weaker it'll get. White people aren't allowed to have magic here."

  
Caleb ignored Atticus and began casting another spell on the book. Ruby approached to observe as well.

  
"What do you say, Ruby?" Tic said as he turned to his sister-in-law.

  
"I think you're right. I don't remember Christina ever being this weak."

  
"I am not losing my powers."

  
"I think you are," Ruby said. "I think you're losing your powers, and I think you're going to stay here until you have no other choice but to gives us that book."

  
"I will not give you the book. I will destroy it if it's the last thing I do."

  
Still, Caleb tried and failed to cast his spell. Frustrated, he threw the book across the room. The book landed heavily on the ground, still closed. With a frustrated groan, Caleb went to pick it up.

  
"Just give us the book, Braithwhite," Atticus called out.

  
"This book, mister Turner?" Caleb said, showing off the book as he came to stand in front of the energy field. "And what will you do with it, if you don't mind my asking? We've fought over a book in the past, well, not us but other versions of us. I paid you for that book. You graciously took my money. How much would you take to let me keep this one I wonder?"

  
Atticus smirked.

  
"You've got me mistaken, pal. The name's Atticus Freeman, and I don't take bribes."

  
With lightning-fast reflexes, Atticus pulled the book through the energy field, tearing it out of Caleb's grasp. He threw it to Ruby just as Caleb pulled on Atticus' arm, bringing him entirely into the dining room. Atticus was quick to fight the blonde off, pushing him aside. However, he was stuck in the dining room with him.

  
"Go get Christina, I've got this!" Atticus called before facing Caleb.

  
Ruby went to the living room. Leti had begun drawing a circle on the ground to cast the man back into the book. Ruby placed the book on the coffee table and followed Christina's instruction, flipping the book around. She turned the cogs quickly but precisely. The book snapped open. Inside, the pages were filled with barely dried ink. Ruby read the sentence at the top of the page. _Speechless, Christina walked away. There had to be a mistake and there had to be an exit to this place._

  
"Christina's in the book."

  
"Do you know how to get her out?" Leti asked.

  
Ruby wasn't sure. She placed her hand on the pages, attempting to flip through them. Everything went cold for a second. When Ruby looked around, Leti had disappeared. Atticus and Caleb were no longer fighting in the dining room. But Christina was there, with another Ruby and a little girl.


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christina wakes up in bed

Christina woke up in bed. She remembered the book and the wave of ink, not like one would remember a dream. She knew she hadn't dreamed it. Still, she couldn't remember how she'd arrived in bed. She turned around and found that Ruby was sleeping beside her. Almost as soon as she noticed her, Ruby's eyes opened. She smiled.

  
"Good morning. How did my beautiful wife sleep?"

  
Christina frowned.

  
"Wife?"

  
Ruby placed a kiss on her cheek.

  
"Of course. It's what you want. All of this is. Your prize for opening the book. All of your heart's desire."

  
Still, Christina was slightly confused. She sat up and saw the golden band around her finger.

  
"This is my heart's desire? Marriage?"

  
Ruby sat up too, nestling against Christina's side. She began kissing her shoulder.

  
"An eternity of firsts for the two of us is what your heart desires. A family. Magic."

  
Christina could only stare at her hands.

  
"The ritual worked?"

  
"You found a way," Ruby explained between kisses. Not just for you but for me too. And Atticus is still alive too. You never needed his life's essence."

  
Christina smiled. She wanted to be taken into this fantasy where everything she ever wanted was at hand's reach. But it was too good to be true.

  
"But you're not the real Ruby?"

  
"In here I'm as real as you are," Ruby said.

  
She took Christina's hand and placed it on her cheek. Ruby's skin was soft and warm, just as Christina was used to.

  
"This is not an illusion. The moment you entered the book, it was all created for you. Your heart's desires."

  
Christina caressed Ruby's cheek.

  
"But what if I can't stay? What if I have to leave? I can't just stay here and leave a fantasy."

  
Before Ruby could answer, the handle of the door rattled as someone struggled to open it. When it opened, a little girl walked in. She was wearing white and blue striped pajamas and wore a thick pair of glasses on her nose. She ran up to the bed and jumped on it, to come and hug Christina.

  
"Mommy, I'm hungry! I want breakfast!" the little girl complained.

  
At a first glance, she looked almost exactly like Ruby. Her skin was just a bit lighter. She had messy black curls falling in front of her dark eyes. Her nose was Ruby's, and her smile too. But the longer Christina looked at her the more she saw things of herself. In the girl's narrow shoulders, the shape of her eyes, and the dimple in her chin. And the glasses.

  
"We'll have breakfast in a minute, sweetheart," Ruby promised as she combed through the girl's hair. "First mommy has to make a choice."

  
Christina stared at the child in her arms. This was her heart's desire? A family?

  
"Mommy please! Breakfast!" the little girl pleaded, looking up at Christina with puppy eyes.

  
"Er... sure, breakfast."

  
"Yeah!" The little girl jumped off the bed and ran out. Ruby placed a kiss on Christina's cheek before standing from the bed.

  
"Don't stay up here too long or our daughter will eat everything."

  
Ruby picked up her satin robe and put it on before leaving. Christina remained on the bed for a moment, deep in thoughts. She understood being married to Ruby, she understood having her magic back, but the child? She'd never wanted children. She never felt the need for a family. She'd grown to appreciate the fact that Atticus wasn't dead, and she liked being around little George well enough. But family? A child of her own?

  
"Mommy! Momma's making French toast!"

  
The shout, which echoed around the empty house, pulled her out of her thoughts, and she mindlessly left the bedroom and went downstairs.

* * *

It was very jarring to watch the little girl act as if everything was normal when in reality the child had only existed but for a few hours at most. The girl was bright and curious. She apparently had an interest in animals, and she kept asking questions about them, questions to which Christina sometimes didn't have the answer to. As she ate, maple syrup stained her chin and cheeks, and even her nose.

  
"Kid," Christina called to tell the girl that she should use a napkin.

  
"Clarissa, mommy. You always call me by my name, because I should be proud of my name, just like you're proud of me."

  
Christina was stunned silent. A cold feeling filled her lungs. The child continued to eat as though she hadn't just divulged a hidden law of this universe.

  
"Napkin, honey," Ruby warned as she handed the square of cloth to the girl.

  
Clarissa cleaned herself poorly and jumped out of her chair. Then, she turned to Christina.

  
"Can we please practice spells today, Mommy? Please, please please?"

  
"Sure," Christina said, still somewhat dazed as if she hadn't managed to get over her shock over this whole situation.

  
"Yeah!"

  
The little girl gave her a sticky hug and ran upstairs to get dressed. When Christina turned back to Ruby, the other woman was smiling with endearment.

  
"What?" Christina asked.

  
"You seem like you can't quite believe it," Ruby said.

  
"That's because I can't," Christina replied. "I never wanted children. We never talked about children."

  
It took a second for Christina to remember that this wasn't the real Ruby.

  
"You've always wanted to have a family," Ruby pointed out. "A real family, not whatever you and your father had. You won't talk about it but there are still days when you wish your mother wasn't the one who'd gotten sick. I am the closest relationship you've ever had in your life, even if you like to pretend otherwise. And it doesn't matter that once or twice you've thought 'I want to marry that woman' while looking at me, because you can't, for so many reasons. This is the real family that you want. A wife that will love you forever, and I do mean forever, and a daughter to whom you can give the mother you never had."

  
Christina was quick to stand up from the table.

  
"It's not so simple," she said. "This is not what I want."

  
Ruby casually blew on her coffee before she replied:

  
"It has to be, or else the book wouldn't have created it."

  
Speechless, Christina walked away. There had to be a mistake and there had to be an exit to this place. Christina walked up the stairs and back into the bedroom. She touched the bed but nothing happened. She looked around the room. Everything was in its exact place, from the clothes in her drawers to Ruby's makeup on the vanity, to the butterflies on the wall. She got dressed hurriedly and thought that perhaps the book was in the basement where she'd left it.

  
She practically ran down the stairs but when she reached the basement door, Clarissa was waiting beside it.

  
"Can I open the door?" the girl said.

  
"What?"

  
"Open the door. Because it's forbidden to go downstairs without you."

  
Christina blinked in surprise.

  
"Sure, open the door," she said with uncertainty.

  
Clarissa reached for the handle and opened it. She made her way down the stairs carefully. Christina followed nervously. The basement was as it had always been, clustered with notes and papers. But no signs of the book. Of course, the book couldn't exist within the book.

  
From a drawer, Clarissa pulled out a notebook with a giraffe on it and a pencil and placed them on the table. It was a bit too high for her but she struggled on her own to sit on the stool. Then, she flipped her notebook open and began working. Christina frowned and looked over the girl's shoulder. The child was already fluent in the language of Adam, even if her main interest seemed to be turning drawings into real-life creations.

  
"How old are you again?" Christina asked.

  
"I'm six but I'll be seven soon."

  
"You're very smart for a six-year-old."

  
"I'm smart like Momma, that's what you always say. A natural practitioner."

  
Christina pursed her lips and continued looking around for any sign of the book or her calculations from before.

  
"Mommy, can you help me?" Clarissa called.

  
Christina moved back behind the little girl to look at her notebook.

  
"What do you need?"

  
"I don't know how to fix this."

  
Christina looked at all the words and symbols written on the page.

  
"Hold on, let me think..."

* * *

An hour or so later Ruby joined them downstairs. Together Christina and Clarissa had drawn symbols on a sheet of paper, and the girl had drawn a butterfly in the middle. Ruby arrived just in time to hear Clarissa cast the spell. Slowly but surely, the butterfly peeled itself from the piece of paper, leaving a hole in its shape behind. While the inside of its wings was crudely colored, the underside was colorless. It took flight, wandering about the room. Clarissa gasped with wonder. Christina felt pride. The feeling was similar to the one she felt when Ruby mastered a new spell. She'd never felt it toward anyone else but Ruby, and it was strange.

  
The butterfly flew over to Ruby and landed in her hand. It rested there for a second before flying away. Ruby smiled down at the girl.

  
"Good work, sweetheart," she said.

  
Clarissa looked up to Christina. The blonde nodded:

  
"You did well."

  
"Can I make more?" the little girl asked eagerly.

  
"You can."

  
Clarissa jumped from her seat and picked up the piece of paper with the symbols on it. She ran out of the room, zooming past Ruby.

  
"I don't think it's a good idea to let her practice on her own," Christina said. "It could be dangerous."

  
Ruby walked closer, brushing her concerns aside.

  
"Nothing bad will happen to her. Nothing bad will ever happen to your family again."

  
Ruby stopped right in front of her.

  
"I think she's very good at it, just like her mother."

  
She leaned in and kissed Christina. It was exactly like every kiss they'd shared. The sensation of her lips on hers was the same. The tingles at the back of her brain were the same. The way her heart seemed to expand out of her chest felt the same. It was only when Ruby pulled away that Christina remembered this wasn't the real Ruby.

  
"We could go to the park, this afternoon, what do you say?" Ruby asked.

  
Christina did not answer.

  
"Maybe Leti and Tic could come with us, so Clarissa can play with her cousin."

  
Ruby was about to lean in for another kiss but Christina stepped away.

  
"I'll go check on Clarissa," Christina said.

  
When she walked upstairs, she found the little girl seating on the ground in the middle of the living room, drawing a few butterflies on the piece of paper before casting the spell. All of the butterflies flew out of the paper, surrounding the girl who giggled. Then, the little girl took another paper and began drawing symbols again. Christina approached her and asked:

  
"Do you know where the exit is?"

  
Clarissa looked up and pointed at the front door. Christina rushed up to it and threw the door open, but it only led to the driveway outside. Christina shut it with frustration. Ruby had left the basement as well and gone to admire her daughter's work.

  
"I want to leave," Christina told her.

  
"Well, the door's right here, silly," Ruby said.

  
"You know what I mean. How do I leave the book?"

  
"You can't," Ruby said.

  
Between them, Clarissa was still drawing and giggling at the paper butterflies which now crowded against the ceiling of the ground floor.

  
"You can't leave because if you leave, you'll lose your magic again, and you'll become mortal again. You'll lose me, eventually, because one day I won't need you anymore, and I'll grow tired of you, and even if it doesn't happen right away, you know it will, in a few years. I'll leave and I'll take any semblance of a family and any access to magic you have left."

  
"You're lying," Christina hissed. "You're just trying to keep me here."

  
"But why wouldn't you want to stay here? Here is perfect."

  
Suddenly something behind Christina caught Clarissa's attention, and she pointed toward it. Christina turned around, and saw Ruby, the real Ruby, kneeling by the coffee table, the book between her hands. And Christina knew it was the real Ruby, because she wore the same green clothes she'd worn that morning, and she smelled of shampoo.  
"Chris!"

  
Ruby let go of the book and they both disappeared. Christina's heart jumped in her chest. A moment later, Ruby reappeared, one hand flat on the open book.

  
"I can't let go of the book, you have to take my hand," Ruby said, holding out her hand.

  
Christina was about to step toward her when Clarissa came barreling toward her. She clung to Christina's leg.

  
"Please, mommy don't leave! I don't want you to leave!"

  
Big tears fell down her cheeks. Christina's heart broke. She looked up at the fake Ruby who wasn't looking at her with anger, but rather with love and sadness.

  
"You'll lose everything if you go," the fake Ruby said.

  
Christina looked back at the real Ruby. She was holding out her hand, waiting almost impatiently for Christina to take it.

  
"This isn't real, Chris, come on!"

  
"It could be real if you wanted it to be," the fake Ruby said.

  
Still, Clarissa continued to cry against Christina's leg.

  
"You can't spend the rest of your life hidden away in a book," Ruby said.

  
Christina took one last glance at the fake Ruby and the little girl, and she reached for Ruby's hand.

* * *

They appeared in the living room as if nothing had changed. The fake Ruby and the child had disappeared. In their place was Leti and Tic finishing a ritual circle, while in the middle a bound Caleb was struggling to get back up.

  
"Who is that?" Christina asked as she let go of Ruby's hand.

  
"You're evil twin," Leti replied. "I mean, eviler twin."

  
Christina ignored the jab. When Caleb saw her he laughed.

  
"What is so wrong with you that you willingly left the book? You would rather live a miserable life cut off from all magic than being immortal? You gave up on any chance for a family..."

  
"I guess there's only one thing I love more than myself," Christina replied.

  
"We're ready to send him back," Atticus said.

  
Ruby approached with the book in hand and Christina took it.

  
"Let me do the honor."

  
She stood in the middle of a smaller circle connected to the bigger one, pointing the open blank book at Caleb. Leti, Tic, and Ruby took their place in the three other corners of the circle and began chanting. Even though she knew it was useless, Christina chanted too. Caleb screamed as his body turned to black ink again. The book in Christina's hands began to shake violently but she held onto it with all her strength. The ink was sucked into the book, disappearing between the seam from which it had emerged.

  
Once all the ink was gone, Christina shut the book. The belts shut on their own accord, and the cogs turned until the book was secured once more. A collective sigh of relief echoed in the room. When Christina looked over at Ruby, she was met with a glare.

  
"I told you to wait for me, didn't I!"

  
"I know and I'm sorry."

  
Leti pulled the book out of Christina's hand and stuffed it in her bag with the Book of Names.

  
"We're keeping this, and I will magically seal it," she warned.

  
The corner of Atticus' lips pulled into a smile.

  
"Next time you want to gather the family, cousin, a barbecue will be enough," he said.

  
He waved them goodbye while Leti spoke in a hushed voice with Ruby. Ruby nodded along, escorting her sister to the door.

  
"Thanks for your help," she said as she saw them out of the house.

  
She shut the door and turned around. Christina was still standing in the middle of the chalk circle on the parquet floor.

  
"Before you say anything," the blonde said, "I just wanted to try my solution in case it worked, and I thought your protection spell would hold."

  
"Well, you certainly tried," Ruby said. "And things could have gone much worse if the book had burned when he put it in the fireplace, or if he'd managed to destroy it."

  
"But he didn't."

  
"That is not the point. The point is that you don't have your magic anymore to get you out of trouble, and I know that you hate relying on me for it, but you have to accept the fact that you need my help."

  
"You're right. I hate that I have to wait like a child every time I want to do something, and I hate that even after a year of proving to them that I could be trusted, they still won't help me get my powers back. But most of all I hate that for a second I wanted to stay there."

  
Christina sighed and looked to the dining room. The room was a complete mess, with broken chairs strewn about and the table snapped in half under the weight of something. Probably one or two full-grown men.

  
"And I hate that they broke my goddamn dining room..."

  
With another frustrated sigh, Christina began picking up the pieces of the chairs and placing them into a pile in the corner. Ruby came to stand against the door frame.

  
"Why didn't you?" she asked.

  
Christina looked up.

  
"Because it wasn't you."

  
"Looks pretty damn well like me."

  
"It wasn't you. It was a shallow copy made to keep me trapped there. Like the kid, like the magic and the idea of immortality. All of my heart's desires," she added with a bitter chuckle.

  
Ruby stepped into the room and began helping Christina. As they worked to clear the room, Ruby asked:

  
"The child, it was meant to be ours, right?"

  
Christina nodded.

  
"You never told me you wanted kids."

  
"I don't," Christina replied. "Not really. This was the book's attempt at giving me a family."

  
"But you already have a family," Ruby said. "You have me and Tic and Leti, even if she's still a bit on the fence about you."

  
Christina smiled sadly.

  
"Family always leaves eventually. You are the closest and longest relationship I've had in decades, but one day it will end. We might grow out of love, you might get bored of me, I might get bored of you. Something might happen to you."

  
"Or," Ruby said as she walked up to Christina, taking her chin between her fingers and forcing her to look her in the eyes. "We might leave happily together for many years to come."

  
She kissed Christina.

  
"And we might move out of here and buy another house and we might get a dog or a cat, and we might get married one day..."

  
"We can't get married," Christina pointed out. "It's illegal on two different levels."

  
"Oh, you think that stopped people before?"

  
Christina chuckled.

  
"And we might have children one day or not. But you're not getting rid of me so easily. You're stuck with me."

  
Christina leaned in, kissing Ruby silent. When they parted, Ruby added:

  
"But I'm still mad at you for opening the book, and you'll clean the floor and all the marks around the house so I can reset them."

  
Christina nodded.

  
"I have to admit that she was a cute kid," Ruby said.

  
"Who? Clarissa?"

  
"That was her name?"

  
"Clarissa, yes."

  
Ruby frowned.

  
"I've never heard that name before."

  
"It was my mother's," Christina said, throwing the last of the wooden splinters on the pile.

  
Ruby took her hand in hers, pulling her away from the pile.

  
"You never talk about your mother."

  
"She died when I was young, there isn't much to say. I miss her often. She got sick when I was five. The last thing I told her before they took her to the hospital was ' Please, mommy don't leave. I don't want you to leave.' I never saw her again after that."

  
Ruby squeezed her hand. Christina changed the subject quickly.

  
"She wasn't a kid anyway, she was a puppet trapped in expectations of my own making I didn't even know I had. She was the opposite of me, she had a family who loved her, who was proud of her, she was learning magic. But she wasn't a child, she had no freedom to be a child, she was just... a trap. To keep me in."

  
Ruby nodded in understanding.

  
"We can talk about it if you want."

  
Christina shook her head.

  
"It's alright. I'll go get a bucket and a brush."

  
Before she could walk away, Ruby pulled her in for one last kiss.

  
"I'm glad you're okay."

  
"I'm glad you're okay too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Christina had glasses when she was a kid but she used magic to correct her eyesight, change my mind.  
> Also, stupid me keeps thinking all the time "it's alright, Loving v. Virginia is only 12 years away, they can wait 12 years to get married" before I remember that homosexual marriage wasn't made legal until 2004 at the earliest in the US and I kinda want to cry...  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this weird story! Clarissa had a different name at first but barely an hour after I'd finished writing I saw on Tumblr that Chris' mom was named Clarissa, so I had to go back and edit that.  
> Tomorrow I'll post the prologue and first chapter of the sequel to "The Never Named City" called very originally "The Haunting of the Ardham Lodge". It's not going to be an adventure story this time and more inspired by The Haunting of Hill House. So I hope to see you guys there!


End file.
